Protecting devices from impact damage

ABSTRACT

A system and method for protecting devices from impact damage is provided. Prior to impact between a surface and a device, a determination of a risk of damage to the device is made. If the risk of damage to the device exceeds a threshold, a protection system is activated to reduce or substantially eliminate damage to the device.

BACKGROUND

In today's world, portable devices have become ubiquitous and oftenindispensable to our work and personal life. A main convenience is thatthey are often small and light devices that are easy to hold in a hand,carry in a holster, purse or pocket or otherwise easily transportable.These characteristics of portable devices make them convenient for auser to take wherever they go. Examples of such portable devices includecellular phones, smart phones, personal data assistants, electronicmedia players, notebook computers, netbook computers, tablet computers,barcode scanners, cameras, video cameras, pagers, portable video gameconsoles, video game controllers and the like.

People often carry around many types of portable electronic devices. Forexample, a user may carry a cellular or smart phone, a personal dataassistant (PDA) and an audio (e.g. mp3) player. These portable devicesare sometimes vitally important to the user as they often contain datathat is related to the user's work and personal life. The data may bepublicly available to all (e.g., mp3, downloaded images) as well asprivate data that may be difficult or nearly impossible to replace(e.g., photographs, passwords, private telephone numbers).

While the size and weight of portable devices make them convenient tocarry around, these characteristics often make them more susceptible todamage and loss. For example, one type of portable device is a cellularphone. At least one report claims 1 out of 3 cellular phones are damagedor lost in the first year of ownership. Damage may occur when a cellularphone experiences an uncontrolled impact with a hard surface or evenbecome submerged in a liquid. With the number of cellular phones in useexceeding several billion and repairs typically exceeding $25, the costsof damage and loss of cellular phones amounts to billions of dollars peryear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a portable device with adamage avoidance system according to the teachings of this disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an embodiment of a removably attachabledamage avoidance system and a portable device;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of an embodiment of a portable devicehaving the removably attachable damage avoidance system of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having aprotection element that includes an airbag;

FIG. 2B illustrates an embodiment of the portable device of FIG. 2Awhere the airbag has been deployed;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having aprotection element that includes a propulsion element;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having aprotection element that includes one or more springs;

FIG. 5A illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having aprotection element that includes an impact absorbing structure;

FIG. 5B illustrates an embodiment of the portable device of FIG. 5Ahaving a protection element that includes an impact absorbing structurethat has been deployed;

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having aprotection element that includes a reinforced edge;

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having areorientation element that includes a propulsion element;

FIG. 8A illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having areorientation element that includes a rotational modifier;

FIG. 8B illustrates an embodiment of a reorientation element thatincludes the rotational modifier of FIG. 8A in one possible position;

FIG. 8C illustrates an embodiment of a reorientation element thatincludes the rotational modifier of FIG. 8A in another possibleposition;

FIG. 9A illustrates an embodiment of a portable device having areorientation element that includes a weight;

FIG. 9B illustrates another embodiment of a portable device having thereorientation element of FIG. 9A that includes a weight that is movablealong the X, Y and Z axes;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for protecting a portabledevice;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method forprotecting a portable device; and

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a method forprotecting a portable device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology described herein is a system and method for protecting aportable device from damage due to an impact with a surface. Asdescribed herein, various embodiments utilize a damage avoidance systemthat detects a risk of damage to the portable device caused by anuncontrolled impact with a surface and takes steps to reduce oreliminate that risk. For example, the damage avoidance system may detectthat the portable device is no longer in contact with a user and isuncontrollably moving toward a surface such that, upon impact, there isa risk of damage to the portable device. Upon detecting the risk ofdamage and prior to impact with the surface, the damage avoidance systemactivates a protection system having one or more protection elementsthat work in concert to reduce or prevent damage to the portable deviceupon impact with the surface.

To illustrate a specific example, a cellular phone (a portable device)may be equipped with a damage avoidance system that includes a safetymonitoring system and a protection system. If the user drops thecellular phone, the safety monitoring system, through use of variousdetection elements described below, determines that the device is nolonger in contact with the user, measures a distance from an approachingsurface (e.g., ground) and determines a velocity toward that surface.Based on the collected information, the safety monitoring systemdetermines whether the risk of damage to the cellular phone, that willbe caused by the impending impact, exceeds an acceptable threshold. Ifthe safety monitoring system determines that the risk of damage exceedsthe acceptable threshold, the protection system is activated. Theprotection system, in this example, causes the device to be reorientedand deploys an airbag prior to contact such that the airbag firstcontacts the surface at impact. Instead of the cellular phone directlyimpacting the surface, the airbag absorbs the impact and cushions thecellular phone so that damage is reduced or substantially eliminated.

This brief introduction is provided for the reader's convenience and isnot intended to limit the scope of the technology described herein.Several example implementations and contexts are provided hereinafterwith reference to the following figures, as described below in moredetail. However, the following implementations and contexts are but afew of many. For instance, and as discussed above, these techniquesapply to a variety of portable devices and for a variety ofreorientation elements and protection elements.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a portable device 100according to the teachings of this disclosure. The portable device 100,as discussed above, may be one of any number of devices. In thisillustrated embodiment, the portable device 100 includes a damageavoidance system 102 which is capable of detecting whether there is arisk of damage to the portable device that exceeds an acceptable damagethreshold and taking steps to reduce or eliminate that damage.

The damage avoidance system 102 includes a safety monitoring system 104and a protection system 106. The safety monitoring system 104 includesone or more monitoring elements that determine/measure various statesand/or information related to the portable device 100. For example, thesafety monitoring system 104 may include monitoring elements such as adistance detector 108, a motion detector 110, a contact detector 112 anda surface type detector 114. As will be appreciated, more or fewermonitoring elements may be included in the safety monitoring system 104.

The distance detector 108 may be any number of components that canmeasure/determine the distance between the portable device 100 or damageavoidance system 102 and a surface (not shown). For example, thedistance detector 108 can use a sound or light generator/source (e.g.,radar, sonar, laser, and infra-red) in conjunction with areceptor/receiver to capture the reflection of the generated sound orlight wave to determine/calculate the distance between portable device100 and the surface. In some embodiments, the distance detector 108periodically measures/determines a distance between the portable device100 and the surface. In other embodiments, the distance detector 108continuously measures a distance between the portable device 100 and thesurface. The distance detector 108 may be disabled until a triggeringevent occurs (e.g., orientation detector 116 identifies that theportable device 100 is falling) or always be enabled. In yet otherembodiments, the distance detector 108 does not measure distance untilthe contact detector 112 measures/determines that the portable device100 is no longer contacting another object.

The motion detector 110 measures/determines movement of the portabledevice 100. For example, the motion detector 110 may measureacceleration or motion of the portable device 100. The motion detector110 may include, for example, an accelerometer or any type of motiondetection device. In some embodiments, the motion detector 110 mayreceive inputs from components such as an accelerometer and/or thedistance detector 108 in order to calculate a velocity of portabledevice 100. Alternatively, motion detector 110 can use existingcircuit(s) of the portable device 100 or a dedicated element incommunication with the motion detector 110 to determine the velocity ofthe device by identifying the difference in power, intensity or othermeasurement between radio signals received from cellular phone towers orwireless access points. Motion detector 110 may also include a sound orlight generator/source in conjunction with a detector/receiver tocapture the reflection of the generated sound or light wave to calculatethe velocity of portable device 100.

The contact detector 112 measures whether the portable device 100 iscontacting or substantially proximate to another object (e.g., a user'shand, desk surface, pocket). For example, the portable device 100 mayinclude a force sensing resistive material on the surface of the devicehousing 113 that detects whether the portable device 100 is in contactwith another object. If the contact detector 112 determines that theportable device 100 is in contact with another object (such as a user),it is unlikely that there is a potential risk of damage to the device asit is likely not out of the user's control. Other embodiments of thecontact detector 112 include transmitting and receiving a signal todetermine whether the portable device 100 is contacting or substantiallyproximate to another object or specific type of object including use oftransducers, temperature detecting circuitry, infra-red, radar and sonarelements.

The surface type detector 114 may determine the type of surface that theportable device 100 is approaching when moving toward a surface. Forexample, the surface type detector 114 may measure whether the surfaceis a solid surface (e.g., concrete, wood floor) or a softer surface(e.g., chair, pillow, hand). The surface type detector 114 may alsodetermine a relative value of ability of the surface to absorb orreflect the energy from the impact of the portable device 100 and thesurface. The relative value may be measured or identified as a hardnessor firmness of the surface. The surface type detector 114 may use anumber of technologies, such as infra-red, radar, x-ray or imagerecognition to perform the determination of the surface type. Forexample, using image recognition, the portable device 100 may include acamera and image recognition software. The camera can capture images ofthe surface, and, using image recognition techniques, the type ofsurface may be determined. As discussed below, the damage avoidancesystem 102 may use the surface type in determining whether the risk ofdamage exceeds an acceptable damage threshold (in consideration withdata from the other components of the safety monitoring system 104).

Based on the various data/information provided from the safetymonitoring system 104, the damage avoidance system 102 determines if therisk of damage to the portable device 100 exceeds a damage threshold.The damage threshold may vary according to particular needs and/ordevices. In some embodiments, the damage threshold may be exceeded ifthe distance measured between the portable device 100 and the surface ismore than the distance at which the portable device 100 underwent droptests during design or more than the specified operating conditions forthe device. In other embodiments, the damage threshold may be exceededif the safety monitoring system 104 measures that the device is not incontact with another object and exceeds a predetermined velocity. Anycombination of measurements, portable device specifications and/ordurability test information may be used by the damage avoidance system102 to determine whether the damage threshold has been, will be or ispredicted to be exceeded.

As an example, if the contact detector 112 measures that the portabledevice 100 is no longer in contact with a user, an accelerometer (notshown) measures that the device is accelerating at a rate of 9.80665meters/second² and the distance detector 108 measures that the device is15 meters from a surface, the damage avoidance system 102 may determinethat the risk of damage to the portable device 100 upon impact willlikely exceed a damage threshold. If the expected risk of damage exceedsthe damage threshold, the damage avoidance system 102 activates theprotection system 106, described below, which takes steps to reduce orsubstantially eliminate the damage to the device that would otherwise becaused at impact with the surface.

In addition to determining whether a risk of damage exceeds a damagethreshold, the damage avoidance system 102 may utilize measurements fromthe safety monitoring system 104 (e.g., distance, velocity,acceleration) to calculate and/or predict a time remaining until impactwith the surface. The time remaining until impact may be used by theprotection system 106 to determine whether and/or when the reorientationelement 118 and/or the protection element 120 should be activated suchthat the protection element 120 will first impact the surface. Forexample, if the measured orientation, motion and time until impact aresuch that the device will impact on a side containing the protectionelement 120, the protection system 106 may not activate thereorientation element 118. However, if the data measurements indicatethat the portable device 100 will impact the surface with a side thatdoes not include a protection element 120, the protection system 106 mayactivate the reorientation element 118 at a specific time, based on themeasurements, so that the portable device 100 is reoriented in a mannerthat a side with a protection element 120 will first impact the surface.In addition, if the protection element 120 is deployable (e.g., air bag,springs, thrusters), the protection system 106 may use the timeremaining until impact to determine when to deploy the protectionelement 120.

The protection system 106 may include any number of components that workto reduce or eliminate the detected risk of damage to the portabledevice 100. For example, the protection system 106 may include anorientation detector 116, a reorientation element 118 and a protectionelement 120. The orientation detector 116 may be a standalone componentor combination of components that are designed to detect the orientationof the portable device 100. For example, devices such as accelerometersor tilt sensors could be used. As another example, orientation detector116 may be a camera associated with the portable device 100. Forexample, the camera can be located on the back surface of the portabledevice 100. Images taken from the camera can be indicative of a ceiling,thus, the orientation of the portable device 100 may be that the frontsurface of the portable device 100 is facing toward the ground. Theorientation of the portable device 100 with respect to other surfaces,for example a wall or a table, may then be extrapolated (determined)from such information. Detecting the orientation of the portable device100 may provide the protection system 106 with information regarding theorientation of portable device 100 with respect to approachingsurface(s). As described below, this information may help the protectionsystem 106 determine what actions to take so that the portable device100 will be in a desired orientation at impact with the surface.

The reorientation element 118 may be any number of elements that canalter the orientation of the portable device 100. In general, thereorientation element 118 may produce a force, alter a physical propertyor otherwise create a change in and/or alter the orientation of theportable device 100 with respect to a surface. As discussed below withrespect to FIGS. 7-10, examples of the reorientation element 118 may bea gas expelled from a compressed gas cartridge, a rotational modifier, amoveable weight or other types of devices that can cause reorientationof the portable device 100. An example reorientation technique using amoveable weight may be to relocate the position of the battery withinportable device 100 to alter or create a rotation of portable device100. Yet another technique may be to utilize actuators to causevibrations in the portable device 100 that cause portable device 100 torotate in a desired direction. These techniques may be used alone or inconjunction with each other. Other techniques may be readily apparent toa person skilled in the relevant art. In one embodiment, reorientationelement 118 and protection element 120 can be combined into a singleelement. For example, the same propulsion elements can be used to alterthe device orientation (See FIG. 7) as well as cause a gentle or safelanding (See FIG. 3).

The protection element 120 may be any number of elements that helpprotect the portable device 100 from damage due to impact with asurface. In general, the protection element 120 acts to absorb theenergy that would otherwise transfer to portable device 100 or tocomponents inside the portable device 100 as a result of impact with asurface.

For example, the protection element 120 may be an energy-absorbingmaterial, a material that allows the kinetic energy of portable device100 to be dissipated over a greater time or area, a material thatreduces the kinetic energy of portable device 100 or other appropriatematerials. As discussed with respect to FIGS. 2-6, examples of theprotection element 120 may be one or more of an airbag, a propulsionelement, a spring, an impact absorbing structure and a reinforced edge,among others.

In addition to the elements described above, the portable device 100 mayalso contain a display 122, an input device 124 (e.g., keypad) and aprocessor 126. The processor 126 may be any number of devices that arecommonly thought of as central processing units (CPUs) or any devicethat is capable of receiving an input, performing an operation on theinput and producing an output. In general, the processor 126 may be theCPU of the portable device 100 or may be additional processing unitsthat are used alone or in conjunction with the CPU in order to providefunctionality to the portable device 100 and/or the damage avoidancesystem 102.

It should be understood that display 122 and input device 124 are notrequired, but rather are used herein to help provide a frame ofreference when discussing the orientation of portable device 100. Asused herein, the front surface 128 of the portable device 100 is theside that contains the display 122 and the input device 124. The backsurface (not shown) of the portable device 100 is the side opposite thefront surface 128. The top surface 130 is a side of the portable device100 that perpendicularly extends between the front surface 128 and theback surface that is closer to the display 122 and further away from theinput device 124. The bottom surface 132 is the side opposite the topsurface 130. The left surface 134 is the side perpendicularly extendingbetween the top surface 130 and the bottom surface 132 that is to theleft of the display 122 as it faces a user. The right surface 136 is theside opposite the left surface 134.

Although FIG. 1A illustrates that the damage avoidance system 102 isintegral to the portable device 100, in other embodiments one or morecomponents of the damage avoidance system 102 may be removably attachedto the portable device 100. FIG. 1B illustrates a portable device 150using a removably attachable damage avoidance system 152. For example,one or more components of the damage avoidance system 152 may be housedin an external case 154 that is removably attachable to the portabledevice 150. In this example, the safety monitoring system 104 isincluded in the portable device 150 and may utilize existing componentsof the portable device 150 (e.g., accelerometer, camera, contactdetector 112, processor 126, etc.). The protection system 106 isincluded in the external case 154 and communicates with the safetymonitoring system 104 using any type of wired or wireless datacommunication path 156. For example, the external case 154 may connectwith and communicate through a universal serial bus on the portabledevice 150. As illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 1B and theperspective view of FIG. 1C, the damage avoidance system 152 may becontained in both the portable device 150 and the external case 154 andoptionally use existing components of the portable device 150. In someembodiments, the damage avoidance system 152 may be completely containedin the external case 154. In still another embodiment, not shown, amajority of the damage avoidance system 152 may be contained in theportable device 150 and a single use element (e.g., air bag) of theprotection system 106 may be contained in the external case 154. In suchan example, other portions of the protection system 106, contained inthe portable device 150 may communicate with the single use element viathe communication path 156 causing the single use element to activate ordeploy prior to impact. After use, the external case 154 can be removedand replaced for future use. Regardless of configuration, the damageavoidance system 152 effectively operates in the same manner todetermine whether a risk of damage to the portable device 150 exceeds adamage threshold and takes steps to reduce or eliminate that risk.

FIGS. 2-6 illustrate various embodiments of the protection element 120(FIG. 1A). FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of portable device 200having an airbag 202. A deflated airbag 202 may be embedded into theportable device 200. The airbag 202 may be coupled to a compressed gascartridge 204. Upon detection by the damage avoidance system 102 thatthe risk of damage exceeds a damage threshold, the protection system 106may cause the airbag 202 to deploy out of a side and/or from a face ofportable device 200 prior to impact. The airbag 202 may be inflated bythe compressed gas cartridge 204. For example, the gas cartridge may bea compressed air or carbon dioxide cartridge. In certain embodiments,the airbag 202 may be deployable from multiple sides and/or face(s) ofportable device 200. Thus, airbag 202 can be deployed from the side ofportable device 200 that is expected to impact the surface.Alternatively, there may be multiple airbags 202 that are deployable tocover all or some of the sides of portable device 200. In general,airbag 202 should deploy at least on a side that will first impact thesurface.

FIG. 2B illustrates an embodiment of portable device 200 in which airbag202 has been deployed as inflated airbag 206. FIG. 2B shows inflatedairbag 206 along the bottom surface 232 of portable device 200. Inflatedairbag 206 provides a cushion along the bottom surface 232 of portabledevice 200 such that upon impact, inflated airbag 206 reduces (oreliminates) the energy transferred to portable device 200 due to impactwith the surface. The airbag may, in some embodiments, be deployed fromanother surface of the portable device 200 (as well as more than onesurface). In addition, multiple airbags 202 may be deployed from theside(s)/face(s).

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of portable device 300 having aprotection element 120 that includes one or more propulsion elements302. Propulsion elements 302 may operate to propel and/or expel a gasfrom the portable device 300 to reduce the speed of portable device 300as it travels toward an impact surface 304 substantially in theorientation shown in FIG. 3. A compressed gas cartridge, as describedabove, may be used as a source for the gas.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of portable device 400 having anembodiment of protection element 120 that includes one or more springs402. In one instance, one or more springs 402 are deployable from one ormore side(s) or face(s) of portable device 400 prior to impact in orderto absorb at least a portion of the impact energy to minimize or preventdamage to portable device 400. In such an embodiment, portable device400 may be reoriented prior to impact such that deployed springs 402 aresubstantially perpendicular relative to the impact surface 404. In someembodiments, one or more springs 402 may be located within the body ofportable device 400 such that a portion of housing 413 is physicallyseparated from at least some of the internal components within portabledevice 400 prior to impact. This way, upon impact, the housing 413 firstimpacts the surface 404. As a result, the housing 413, in combinationwith the spring(s) 402, prevent the impact energy from transferring tothe internal components.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate an embodiment of portable device 500 having anembodiment of protection element 120 that includes a protectionstructure 502 in a non-deployed position (FIG. 5A) and in a deployedposition (FIG. 5B). The protection structure 502 can comprise a portionof the portable device 500 such as a bezel, housing panel or otherportion of the portable device 500. Springs 504 are operable to push theprotection structure outward from the device when the safety monitoringsystem 104 determines that a risk of damage exceeds a damage threshold.In this way, protection structure 502 may be deployed from the portabledevice 500 prior to impact with the surface. In some embodiments,protection structure 502 is a rigid structure once deployed. In otherembodiments, protection structure 502 is designed to collapse and absorbenergy associated from the impact with the surface. The protectionstructure 502 may be retracted into portable device 500 during normaluse of portable device 500 and may be compressed back into the retractedposition, as shown in FIG. 5A, after deployment for multiple uses. Insome embodiments, the protection structure 502 can be made of materialthat is designed to break or deform upon contact with the impactsurface, thus providing additional cushioning to portable device 500.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of portable device 600 having anembodiment of protection element 120 that includes one or morereinforced edges 602. Although reinforced edge 602 is shown in FIG. 6 toextend substantially the entire length of the bottom surface 632 ofportable device 600, in some embodiments, reinforced edge 602 maypartially extend along one or more edge(s) or face(s) of portable device600. Reinforced edge 602 may include material such as, but not limitedto, rubber, foam, neoprene or any other energy-absorbing or compressiblematerial. Reinforced edge 602 may be a retractable element that islocated within portable device 600 while operating in “normal” use anddeployed when the safety monitoring system 104 determines that a risk ofdamage exceeds the damage threshold. In some embodiments, reinforcededge 602 can be retracted back into portable device 600 after beingdeployed.

Although the addition of a protection element 120 to the portable device100 is described, it should be understood that the addition of aprotection element 120 is optional. For example, even though a portabledevice 100 may not have a protection element 120, protection system 106may be configured to reorient the portable device 100 such that a faceof the portable device 100 with a large surface area (relative to otherfaces of the portable device 100) first impacts the surface. Strikingthis surface spreads the force of impact across a greater area, thusminimizing damage to a portable device 100. Additionally, althoughcertain embodiments of protection element 120 have been described above,these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, and it is not theintent to limit the scope of this disclosure to such embodiments. Otherembodiments that are readily apparent to those skilled in the relevantart are within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a portable device 700 where thereorientation element 118 includes one or more openings 702 in theportable device 700. The portable device 700 may have more or feweropenings 702 than shown in FIG. 7. The openings 702 may extendcompletely through the portable device 700 or extend only partwaythrough the portable device 700. The openings 702 may also be modifiable(e.g., a valve), fixed or any combination of modifiable and fixedopenings.

In some embodiments, the openings 702 may be used to reorient theportable device 700 while it is traveling in the air. The openings 702may also provide the portable device 700 with the ability to alter itsangular momentum to either increase or decrease its rate of rotation. Aswill be discussed in more detail below, altering the rate of rotation ofportable device 700 may allow protection element 120 (FIG. 1A) to be ina position to protect portable device 700 from damage caused by impact.

As an example of using openings 702 as a reorientation element 118,openings 702 in portable device 700 may comprise a propulsion element toallow gas to be forced through the openings 702 in order to impart anadditional force to alter the orientation of the portable device 700. Inthis embodiment, the openings 702 travel partway through portable device700 so that the gas can be expelled from a side or selectable portion ofportable device 700. For example, the portable device 700 may includeone or more compressed gas cartridges (not shown) and valves (not shown)that may be used to control from which openings 702 the gas is expelledand the rate of expulsion from each cartridge. By selectively expellinggas through certain openings 702 and controlling the rate of gasexpelled from each opening, the angular momentum of the portable device700 can be altered. The gas can be used to increase or decrease the rateof rotation of the portable device 700 so that at the point of impactwith the surface, the portable device 700 is oriented so that a sidewith a protection element 120 first impacts the surface. As depicted inFIG. 7, gas can be forced through one opening 702 on one side (e.g. top)of the portable device 700, and gas can be forced through anotheropening 702 on the opposite side (bottom) of the portable device 700.This allows extra force to increase or decrease the rate of rotation ofthe portable device 700. In some embodiments, openings 702 may beadjustable in order to expel the gas in one or more directions.

According to one embodiment, as portable device 700 is travelling towardthe impact surface, it may be desired to alter the orientation of theportable device 700 by thirty degrees so that the back surface (notshown) of the portable device 700 first impacts the surface. Utilizingthe damage avoidance system 102, it is determined that additionalangular momentum is required in order to achieve the desired orientationbefore impact with the surface. Accordingly, the damage avoidance system102 causes the reorientation element 118 to expel gas through one ormore openings 702 to provide additional angular momentum to alter theorientation of portable device 700 so that a thirty degree rotation canbe achieved prior to impact.

As another embodiment, the openings 702 in the portable device 700 maynot use any propulsion element at all. In one embodiment, the openings702 may extend through the portable device 700 and are modifiable fromeither side of the portable device 700. For example, one or moreopenings 702 can be selectively opened or closed to alter the airresistance on a side of portable device 700. A control element such as asolenoid and/or motor (not shown) in the portable device 700 may cause acover to partially or completely block one or more of the openings 702thereby altering the resistance on a side of the portable device 700. Byincreasing or decreasing the air resistance, the orientation of portabledevice 700 can be altered.

In addition, reorientation element 118, openings 702 and/or one or moreof the propulsion element(s) that operate to alter or modify theorientation of portable device 700 may be used to reduce the force atthe time of impact with the surface. For example, in one embodiment, gasis expelled from the openings 702 so that as portable device 700 nearsthe surface, the velocity of the portable device 700 is reduced.

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C illustrate an embodiment of a portable device 800where the reorientation element 118 includes a rotational modifier 802.Rotational modifier 802 may be any number of components that can modifythe rotation of the portable device 800. Modifying the rotation of theportable device 800 may allow a desired side of the portable device 800to first impact the surface.

An illustrative rotational modifier 802 may be an actuator or other typeof vibration mechanism, such as a motor 804 attached to an offset weight906 (as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C). The vibration mechanism can rotate toa selected position and then vibrate on a side of the portable device800 to provide impulses in a particular direction to increase ordecrease rotation of the portable device 800. In some embodiments,rotational modifier 802 can be a gyroscope. For example, a gyroscope canbe designed to increase or decrease the rate of rotation of the portabledevice 800. In operation, when the damage avoidance system 102determines that, based on the current rate of rotation of the portabledevice 800, a side of the portable device 800 without a protectionelement 120 will first impact the surface, the damage avoidance system102 may cause the protection system 106 to activate a gyroscope(reorientation element 118) to reorient portable device 800.

While in some embodiments the rotational modifier 802 is operable torotate the offset weight 806 such that it creates a substantiallycontinuous vibration in the device, in other embodiments the offsetweight 806 can be rotated into one or more alternative positions fromits normal position in order to alter the center of mass of portabledevice 800. For example, FIG. 8B illustrates an embodiment ofreorientation element 118 that includes the rotational modifier 802 ofFIG. 8A in one possible alternative position. As depicted, the motor 804is operable to rotate offset weight 806 about axis 808. The position ofthe offset weight 806 depicted in solid lines can denote a position inwhich the offset weight 806 is in a normal position, while the positiondepicted in hashed lines depicts the offset weight 806 in a first offsetposition. Similarly, FIG. 8C illustrates an embodiment of reorientationelement 118 that includes the rotational modifier 804 of FIG. 8A in asecond possible alternative position. Here, the position depicted insolid lines again denotes the position in which the offset weight 806 isin a normal position, while the position depicted in hashed linesdepicts the offset weight 806 in a second offset position. Accordingly,the center of mass of portable device 800 is altered as needed by movingthe offset weight 806 into these example alternative positions.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an embodiment of a portable device 900 wherethe reorientation element 118 includes a movable weight 902. FIG. 10Aillustrates a rear view of the portable device 900, whereby a portion ofthe housing 1013 has been removed to expose a compartment 904. A movableweight 902, when moved, alters the center of gravity of the portabledevice 900 to cause a change in the rate or direction of rotation of theportable device 900.

In one embodiment, the movable weight 902 is a relatively heavycomponent of the portable device 900, such as a battery. By altering thelocation of the movable weight 902 within the compartment 904, thecenter of gravity of the portable device 900 is altered. Using a batteryas movable weight 902 to change the center of gravity of portable device900, as well as providing power to portable device 900, allows thebattery to serve multiple purposes and eliminates the need to have aseparate movable weight 902 in the portable device 900.

FIG. 9A illustrates that, according to some embodiments, the movableweight 902 may be placed on rails 906 within compartment 904 in theportable device 900. The movable weight 902 may be held in place byvarious objects, such as retractable pins 908, which can releasablycontrol an object in place along the rails 906. When it is desired torelocate the movable weight 902 within compartment 904 in order tochange the center of gravity of the portable device 900, one set of pins908 may be withdrawn to allow the movable weight 902 to slide along therails 906 to a new location within the portable device 900.Alternatively, or in addition to the rails 906, a motor (not shown) cancause the movable weight 902 to move along the rails 906 to a desiredlocation.

Although FIG. 9A illustrates that the movable weight 902 has only onedegree of freedom along the rails 906 (as shown by arrow A-A), FIG. 9Billustrates that the movable weight 902 may be able to move inadditional degrees of freedom (e.g. along any number of axes, includingthe X, Y and Z axes) in other embodiments. At some time after recoveryof the portable device 900, the movable weight 902 can be returned toits original position and re-secured on the rails 906. In yet otherembodiments, the moveable weight 902 is example of an ejectable elementthat can be completely ejected from the portable device 900. Thisejection can serve to change the center of mass of the portable device900, cause the portable device 900 to have a lower mass at impact and/oralter the orientation of the portable device 900 from the force of theejection of the moveable weight 902 (e.g. from springs or othermechanisms operable to eject the moveable weight 902 from the portabledevice 900). The ejectable element can include one or more relativelyheavy components of the portable device 900. Similarly, an ejectableelement may be ejected but remain within portable device 900. Theejectable element may be ejected to reduce the possible damage tosensitive components or to reduce a stress or strain on another element(e.g., a connector or circuit board).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 executed by damageavoidance system 102 for protecting a portable device 100 using safetymonitoring system 104 and protection system 106, as described above. Atstep 1002, damage avoidance system 102 determines a risk of damage tothe portable device 100. In some embodiments, damage avoidance system102 periodically makes this determination. In other embodiments, damageavoidance system 102 continuously (e.g., real-time) makes thisdetermination. For example, damage avoidance system 102 may utilize oneor more of distance detector 108, motion detector 110, contact detector112 and/or surface type detector 114 to determine the risk of damage tothe portable device 100. Damage avoidance system 102 may weigh theinformation provided by each detector in safety monitoring system 104differently when assessing a risk of damage.

At step 1004, damage avoidance system 102 determines whether a risk ofdamage to the portable device 100 exceeds a damage threshold. If thedamage avoidance system 102 determines that a risk of damage does notexceed a damage threshold, the method 900 returns to step 1002. At atime after damage avoidance system 102 determines that a risk of damageto the portable device 100 exceeds a damage threshold, at step 1006damage avoidance system 102 alters, if necessary, the orientation of theportable device 100. For example, if orientation detector 116 determinesthat the portable device 100 is already in a desired orientation (e.g.,the protection element 120 will first impact the surface), then theportable device 100 is not reoriented prior to impact. If reorientationof the portable device 100 is required, reorientation element 118 altersthe orientation of the portable device 100 one or more times prior toimpact until the protection element 120 is positioned to first impactthe surface. At step 1008, the protection element 120 may be deployed.The protection element 120 may be deployed before, during or after thereorientation of the portable device 100.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 executed by damageavoidance system 102 for protecting a portable device 100 using safetymonitoring system 104 and protection system 106. Steps 1102 and 1104operate substantially as described above with respect to steps 1002 and1004 of method 1000 to determine a risk of damage to the portable device100 and to determine whether that risk exceeds a threshold. However,according to the embodiment of method 1100, a protection element 120 isnot deployed. Rather, once it is determined that the risk of damage tothe portable device 100 exceeds a threshold, at step 1106 thereorientation element 118 of protection system 106 alters theorientation of the portable device 100 to reduce or eliminate the riskof damage. For example, protection system 106 may be configured toreorient the portable device 100 such that a reinforced surface or asurface of the portable device 100 with a large surface area (relativeto other surfaces of the portable device 100) first impacts the surface.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 executed by damageavoidance system 102 for protecting a portable device 100 using safetymonitoring system 104 and protection system 106. Steps 1202 and 1204operate substantially as described above with respect to steps 1002 and1004 of method 1000 to determine a risk of damage to the portable device100 and to determine whether that risk exceeds a threshold. However,according to the embodiment of method 1200, the portable device 100 isnot reoriented. Rather, once it is determined that the risk of damage tothe portable device 100 exceeds a threshold, at step 1206 the protectionsystem 106 deploys a protection element 120 (e.g. airbag, propulsionsystem, fans, springs, etc.) to reduce or eliminate the risk of damage.In such an embodiment it may be desirable to use a protection element120 that protects substantially all surfaces of the portable device 100from first contacting the impact surface. For example, an airbag thatcovers all or a substantial portion of the surface of the portabledevice 100 can be deployed. Additionally, in some embodiments, theprotection element 120 may be deployed to protect a particular side ofthe portable device 100 that naturally tends to contact a surface firstwhen dropped. For example, the center of mass of the portable device 100may cause the device to impact on a particular side of the portabledevice 100 more often than others. In such a case, the protectionelement 120 may specifically be designed to deploy such that thisparticular side is protected.

In addition to helping to protect the portable device 100 from impactdamage, damage avoidance system 102 may help locate a portable device100 if it becomes lost or misplaced. In one embodiment, safetymonitoring system 104 monitors at least one of movement and/or contactto determine if the portable device 104 is lost or misplaced. Forexample, after determining that the portable device (e.g., cell phone)has not moved or changed relative position for a defined period of time,damage avoidance system 104 may cause the portable device 104 to send amessage. The message may be voice, text, SMS or other communication thatinforms the recipient that the portable devices may be lost/misplacedand may include location information, including for example the GPScoordinates from the portable device or a location based upon atriangulated signal. In one embodiment, at least one of motion detector110 and/or contact detector 112 is used to determine motion and/or thatthe portable device 104 has been contacted (e.g., touched) the userwithin a defined or selected period of time. In addition, damageavoidance system 102, may also monitor the remaining battery operationallife so that the portable device sends the communication before theportable device becomes non-operational because of an insufficientcharge.

Although the portable devices examples generally typically refer to acellular phone, the portable device may include smart phones, personaldata assistants, electronic media players, electronic book readers,notebook computers, netbook computers, tablet computers, barcodescanners, cameras, video cameras, pagers, portable video game consoles,video game controllers and the like as each are susceptible to damageand/or loss.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated via, software code modules executed by one or more generalpurpose or particular computers or processors. The code modules may bestored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storagedevice. Some or all of the methods may alternatively be embodied inspecialized computer hardware. In addition, the components referred toherein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or acombination thereof.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment. In addition, the termsmeasures, measuring, ascertain, calculate, determine and determining aregenerally used interchangeably to convey that the described components,systems or methods operate to determine a particular result orcondition.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the relevant art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

1. A method for protecting a portable device that includes an airbagdeployable from a side of the portable device, comprising: detectingthat the portable device will impact a surface; prior to impact with thesurface, determining if a risk of damage to the portable device from theimpact exceeds a damage threshold; when the risk of damage to theportable device exceeds the damage threshold: altering the orientationof the portable device such that the air bag first impacts the surface;and deploying the airbag prior to impact with the surface.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: determining a time to impact between thesurface and the portable device.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinaltering the orientation is performed by a portable device reorientationelement.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein altering the orientationcomprises forcing a gas through a modifiable opening in the portabledevice.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the portable devicereorientation element is at least one of: a movable weight, a gyroscope,an actuator and a propulsion element.
 6. A system for protecting aportable device, comprising: a device safety monitoring systemconfigured to detect a risk of damage to the portable device fromimpacting a surface; a protection element operable to reduce the risk ofdamage to the portable device caused by the impact with the surface; anorientation detector, operable to detect an orientation of the portabledevice; and a reorientation element, operable to modify the orientationof the portable device such that the protection element first impactsthe surface.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one of theprotection element and the reorientation element includes a propulsionelement.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the protection elementcomprises at least one of: an impact absorbing structure, a reinforcedside and a spring.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the device safetymonitoring system is removably attached to the portable device.
 10. Asystem for protecting a portable device, comprising: a device safetymonitoring system configured to detect a risk of damage to the portabledevice caused by impact with a surface; a reorientation element operableto modify the orientation of the portable device; and a deployableprotection element, activated upon detection of the risk of damage bythe device safety monitoring system exceeding a damage threshold,wherein the deployable protection element is externally deployed fromthe portable device prior to impact with the surface.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the deployable protection element includes at leastone of an airbag, a propulsion element and a spring.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the propulsion element deploys a gas from the portabledevice.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the deployable protectionelement is deployable from at least one side of the portable device. 14.The system of claim 10, wherein the device safety monitoring systemcomprises at least one of: a velocity detector; an accelerometer; adistance detector; and a contact detector.
 15. The system of claim 10,further comprising: an orientation detection element in communicationwith the reorientation element, operable to detect an orientation of theportable device.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the reorientationelement modifies a rotation of the portable device.
 17. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the reorientation element modifies the orientation ofthe portable device so that a side of the portable device that containsthe deployable protection element first impacts the surface.
 18. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the reorientation element comprises at leastone of: a propulsion element, an ejectable element, a movable weight, anactuator, a gyroscope and a modifiable opening.
 19. The system of claim18, wherein the movable weight is a battery.
 20. The system of claim 18,wherein the propulsion element expels a gas from the portable device.21. The system of claim 10, wherein the reorientation element reorientsthe portable device prior to a deployment of the deployable protectionelement.
 22. A computer-readable storage medium whose contents includeinstructions that when executed configure one or more computing devicesto perform a method comprising: prior to impact between a surface and adevice having a protection element: determining that the impact maycause damage to the device; and modifying an orientation of the devicewith a reorientation element such that the protection element firstimpacts the surface.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22,wherein the determining that the impact may cause damage to the devicecomprises at least one of: determining a velocity of the device;determining a distance between the device and the surface; determiningan acceleration of the device; determining a contact with the device;determining a time to impact of the device and the surface; anddetermining an impact surface type.
 24. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 22, wherein the protection element comprises at least one of: anairbag, a propulsion element and a spring.
 25. The computer-readablemedium of claim 24, wherein the spring is operable to deploy from atleast one surface of the device.
 26. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 22, wherein the modifying an orientation of the device furthercomprises: activating the reorientation element such that the protectionelement first impacts the surface.
 27. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 22, wherein the modifying the orientation of the device reorientsthe device such that first contact with the surface is at least aportion of the side having the protection element.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the reorientation elementincludes at least one of: a propulsion element, a movable weight, anactuator, a gyroscope and a modifiable opening.
 29. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the propulsion elementexpels a gas from the device.
 30. The computer-readable medium of claim28, wherein the movable weight comprises a battery.
 31. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 22, further comprising deploying theprotection element prior to impact with the surface.
 32. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the protection element isdeployable from a surface of the device.
 33. The computer-readablemedium of claim 22, wherein the device comprises at least one additionalprotection element.
 34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33,wherein the protection element is deployable from a first surface of thedevice and the at least one additional protection element is deployablefrom a second surface of the device.